Shovel and related methods

ABSTRACT

A shovel and related methods are disclosed. The shovel has a blade having an underside, an upper side, and at least one side wall, the upper side configured to hold snow. The shovel has a skid coupled to the underside of the blade, and a strap attachment mechanism coupled to the at least one side wall.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 119

The present application for patent claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/433,068, filed Dec. 12, 2016, and assigned tothe assignee hereof, the contents of which are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein as if presented in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to shovels. In particular, but not by wayof limitation, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods forshoveling snow.

BACKGROUND

Snow shovels have been in use for ages; however, there remains a needfor a shovel that is effective, easy to transport, long-lasting, anddoes not damage surfaces that come in contact with the shovel.

SUMMARY

An exemplary shovel has a blade having an underside, an upper side, andat least one side wall, the upper side configured to hold snow. Theexemplary shovel has a skid coupled to the underside of the blade. Theexemplary shovel has a strap attachment mechanism coupled to the atleast one side wall.

An exemplary method of making a shovel includes providing a blade havingan underside, an upper side, and at least one side wall, the upper sideconfigured to hold snow. The exemplary method includes coupling a skidto the underside of the blade, and coupling a strap attachment mechanismto the at least one side wall.

An exemplary method of using a shovel includes providing a shovel with(a) a blade having an underside, an upper side, and at least one sidewall, the upper side configured to hold snow, (b) a skid coupled to theunderside of the blade, and (c) a strap attachment mechanism coupled tothe blade. The exemplary method includes detaching at least one of theskid or the strap attachment mechanism from the blade.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shovel in a collapsed configurationaccording to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shovel in FIG. 1 in a deployedconfiguration;

FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of the lower side of the shovel inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view and a side view of the blade of the shovelin FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates a top view, side view, and bottom view of the handleconnector of the shovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom view and a side view of the skin of theshovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 illustrates various views of the strap attachment mechanism ofthe shovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 illustrates various views of first and second shafts of thehandle of the shovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 illustrates various views of third and fourth shafts of theshovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 illustrates a top view and side view of the tee handle of theshovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 illustrates a side view of the blade in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 illustrates a rear view of the blade in FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of a strap attachment portion ofthe shovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of a strap attachment portion ofthe shovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 illustrates a side view of the strap attachment mechanism inFIG. 1;

FIG. 16 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the strap attachmentmechanism in FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 illustrates an exploded side view of the mechanism in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 illustrates an exploded end view of the mechanism in FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 illustrates a lower perspective view of the mechanism in FIG.16;

FIG. 20 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a strap attachmentmechanism suitable for use in the shovel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a method; and

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-19 illustrate an embodiment of a shovel 100 described herein anda strap assembly. FIG. 20 illustrates an alternative embodiment of thestrap assembly.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the shovel 100 may have a blade assembly 102having a blade 110. The shovel 100 may also have a handle assembly 104and a strap assembly 106, which may also be referenced herein as a strapattachment mechanism. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the shovel 100 may alsohave a skid assembly 108.

An exemplary shovel 100 may have a blade 110 having an underside 111(see FIG. 3), an upper side (113), and at least one side wall 115, theupper side 113 configured to hold snow. The shovel 100 may have a skid108 coupled to the underside 111 of the blade 110, and a strapattachment mechanism 106 coupled to the at least one side wall 115.

The strap assembly 106 may provide means for temporarily affixing theshovel 100 to another device, such as a user's backpack, a vehicle, asled, and/or a receiving hook. The strap assembly 106 and/or the skidassembly 108 may provide a means for protecting the surface across whichthe shovel 100 is dragged. The strap assembly 106 and/or the skidassembly 108 may be made of a synthetic material and/or a non-metallicmaterial. The strap assembly 106 and/or the skid assembly 108 may be“sacrificial” wear components. That is, the strap and/or skid assemblies106, 108 may be configured to wear faster as the shovel 100 is draggedabout, thereby protecting the blade 110.

The strap assembly 106 and/or the skid assembly 108 may be replaceable.

The components of the shovel 100 may be made of any material suitablefor the purpose of use in a snow shovel. Recycled components may beused.

The shovel 100 may have a telescoping shaft 119 or a plurality of shafts119 coupling the handle portion 104 to the blade assembly (see e.g.FIGS. 8 and 9). The telescoping shaft may be removable from the bladeassembly. The telescoping shaft 119 may be attachable at a firstposition, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, and/or a second position,such as that illustrated in FIG. 2. The telescoping shaft may beadjustable in length and/or attachment position without the use oftools. The telescoping shaft may telescope in length between about 18″and about 56.5″. The blade 110 may be about 12″ in height. That is, thetotal height of the shovel may be adjustable between about 12″ during astorage configuration wherein the shaft is in the first position and upto 68.5″ wherein the shaft is in the second position and fully extended.

A variety of handles may be provided on the shovel 100. As illustratedin FIG. 5, a handle connector 117 may be provided to couple a handle tothe blade 110.

The blade 110 may have a plurality of teeth at a distal end of the blade110, so as to assist with efficient snow grooming and/or ice scraping.

With reference to FIGS. 13-19, and in particular FIG. 16, the strapassembly 106 may include a first side 106 a and a second side 106 b,with one of the sides configured to snap into the other side. Forexample, the first side 106 a may have a flanged protrusion 106 c shapedto flex as the first side 106 a is pressed against the second side 106b, and to engage flanged recess 106 d in the second side 106 b, althoughthose skilled in the art will recognize that a reverse configuration ispossible.

With reference to FIG. 20, one can readily recognize that any temporaryengagement between the first and second sides of the strap assembly 106is possible and/or that the first and second sides may be reversiblewith each other.

Turning now to FIG. 21, a method 2100 of making a shovel includesproviding 2102 a blade having an underside, an upper side, and at leastone side wall, the upper side configured to hold snow. The method 2100may include coupling 2104 a skid to the underside of the blade, andcoupling a strap attachment mechanism to the at least one side wall. Themethod 2100 may be accomplished using the shovel 100 previouslydescribed herein.

Turning now to FIG. 22, A method 2200 of using a shovel includesproviding 2202 a shovel with (a) a blade having an underside, an upperside, and at least one side wall, the upper side configured to holdsnow, (b) a skid coupled to the underside of the blade, and (c) a strapattachment mechanism coupled to the blade. The method 2200 may includedetaching 2204 at least one of the skid or the strap attachmentmechanism from the blade. The method 2200 may be accomplished using theshovel 100 previously described herein.

The terms and expressions employed herein are used as terms andexpressions of description and not of limitation, and there is nointention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding anyequivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof. Inaddition, having described certain embodiments, it will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments incorporatingthe concepts disclosed herein may be used without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects as only illustrativeand not restrictive.

Each of the various elements disclosed herein may be achieved in avariety of manners. This disclosure should be understood to encompasseach such variation, be it a variation of an embodiment of any apparatusembodiment, a method or process embodiment, or even merely a variationof any element of these. Particularly, it should be understood that thewords for each element may be expressed by equivalent apparatus terms ormethod terms—even if only the function or result is the same. Suchequivalent, broader, or even more generic terms should be considered tobe encompassed in the description of each element or action. Such termscan be substituted where desired to make explicit the implicitly broadcoverage to which this disclosure is entitled.

As but one example, it should be understood that all action may beexpressed as a means for taking that action or as an element whichcauses that action. Similarly, each physical element disclosed should beunderstood to encompass a disclosure of the action which that physicalelement facilitates. Regarding this last aspect, by way of example only,the disclosure of a fastener should be understood to encompassdisclosure of the act of fastening—whether explicitly discussed ornot—and, conversely, were there only disclosure of the act of fastening,such a disclosure should be understood to encompass disclosure of afastening mechanism. Such changes and alternative terms are to beunderstood to be explicitly included in the description.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments and examples isprovided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use thepresent disclosure as defined by the claims. Thus, the presentdisclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples disclosedherein. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shovel, comprising: a blade having anunderside, an upper side, and at least one side wall, the upper sideconfigured to hold snow; a skid coupled to the underside of the blade;and a strap attachment mechanism coupled to the at least one side wall.2. The shovel of claim 1, further comprising: a handle removably coupledto the blade.
 3. The shovel of claim 1, wherein: the skid is detachablefrom the blade.
 4. The shovel of claim 1, wherein: the strap attachmentmechanism is detachable from the blade.
 5. The shovel of claim 1,wherein: the skid comprises a first material; the blade comprises asecond material different from the first material; and wherein the firstmaterial is configured to wear more quickly than the second material. 6.The shovel of claim 1, wherein: the strap attachment mechanism comprisesa first material; the blade comprises a second material different fromthe first material; and wherein the first material is configured to wearmore quickly than the second material.
 7. The shovel of claim 1, furthercomprising: a plurality of strap attachment mechanisms.
 8. A method ofmaking a shovel, comprising: providing a blade having an underside, anupper side, and at least one side wall, the upper side configured tohold snow; coupling a skid to the underside of the blade; and coupling astrap attachment mechanism to the at least one side wall.
 9. The methodof claim 8, further comprising: removably coupling a handle to theblade.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: detaching the skidfrom the blade.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: detachingthe strap attachment mechanism from the blade.
 12. The method of claim8, wherein: the skid comprises a first material; the blade comprises asecond material different from the first material; and wherein the firstmaterial is configured to wear more quickly than the second material.13. The method of claim 8, wherein: the strap attachment mechanismcomprises a first material; the blade comprises a second materialdifferent from the first material; and wherein the first material isconfigured to wear more quickly than the second material.
 14. The methodof claim 8, further comprising: coupling a plurality of strap attachmentmechanisms to the at least one side wall or the underside.
 15. A methodof using a shovel, comprising: providing a shovel with (a) a bladehaving an underside, an upper side, and at least one side wall, theupper side configured to hold snow, (b) a skid coupled to the undersideof the blade, and (c) a strap attachment mechanism coupled to the blade;and detaching at least one of the skid or the strap attachment mechanismfrom the blade.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:removably coupling a handle to the blade.
 17. The method of claim 15,further comprising: detaching the skid from the blade.
 18. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: detaching the strap attachment mechanismfrom the blade.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein: the skid comprisesa first material; the blade comprises a second material different fromthe first material; and wherein the first material is configured to wearmore quickly than the second material.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein: the strap attachment mechanism comprises a first material; theblade comprises a second material different from the first material; andwherein the first material is configured to wear more quickly than thesecond material.